The Trials of Time
by HelKat
Summary: Young Sephiroth only wanted someone to trust absolutely. The Planet only wanted to prevent the death of the Lifestream. Cloud didn't want anything to do with this 'second chance'. Fate doesn't like to play nice. Timetravel. Crossdressing. Mentor!Fic.


Title: The Trials of Time

Rating: T

Summary: Young Sephiroth only wanted someone to trust absolutely. The Planet only wanted to prevent the death of the Lifestream. Cloud didn't want anything to do with this 'second chance'. Fate doesn't like to play nice. Timetravel. Crossdressing. Mentor!Fic.

Disclaimer: You think I own Final Fantasy VII? You're crazy. My version would make much less sense than the real thing...

Warning: Not yaoi. Sorry, but not this time. We do have a bit of cross-dressing though.

Notes: Cloud is 24 and Sephiroth is 5 years old.

Pages/Words (Total): 28/14756 (28/14756)

xXx Chapter One: June 2000 to February 1972 xXx

(AKA: Introductions)

Sephiroth decided he didn't like anyone.

It was an easy decision with no one except Professor Gast to change his mind. Every room he entered meant there would be pain or displeasure. He didn't enjoy anything he did, even if his Father said he did an excellent job; he was bound to be told he could do better eventually.

Sephiroth decided he was unhappy.

This decision brought along with it the idea that happiness was probably something he just didn't understand. He didn't try to talk to Professor Gast about it. Father would find out eventually, and he didn't want Father to know.

Sephiroth decided that his life should be different.

The workers at the lab, both in white coats and blue suits, never spent the night. There had to be something more outside of the hallway of rooms. Professor Gast had shown him a map of Gaia, and it was easy for him to believe that his little room to the right of the Shots Room had to be a little dot on that big map with names of 'mountains' and 'countries' and 'cities'. There had to be options.

"Man, this place is _hell_." Sephiroth heard one day outside of his door. The other white coated doctors and nurses were always easy to pick out.

"At least you're getting your money. Remember that."

"Doesn't change the fact I just wanna run away from it all."

"And where would you go?"

"Dunno. Someplace nice, and not this place."

That sounded like a wonderful idea to a very impressionable little boy genius.

Sephiroth decided to run away.

The Planet decided it could use an idea like that to its advantage.

X

Sephiroth decided that being a five year old little boy meant he had no idea what he really meant when he decided on things.

Running away from the labs was no problem. The doors were never locked and whatever was locked could just open if he typed in the right password, which was always #01239. Always. He'd seen the number punched into so many doors it would have stumped him if that code didn't work.

The first trees he saw were grey and bare, rather than brown with bright green leaves as in his books. He didn't see grass or sun either; instead he saw the blinding white of snow and felt the harsh winds of winter storms.

It had been amazing, and Sephiroth gleefully ran into the wilderness and away from the mansion stuck right in the middle of it.

Now he was cold, wet, and hungry. He didn't want to go back, and he couldn't if he wanted to. He was lost, and that was fine with him. If _he_ didn't know where he was, then Father couldn't find him. Except he was still cold, wet and hungry.

Shivering and fully aware he was in danger to 'succumbing to the elements', whatever that meant, Sephiroth traveled down the slant he found himself walking along. The snowstorm stopped, and when an animal became curious about him, he simply curled into his white gi/pajamas/patient clothes and closed his eyes. Camouflage at its finest, he liked to believe. The snow was just the same shade as him, and his short hair looked just like ice. His skin was probably a little more colorful than the ice, but that was what sleeves and pants were for. It worked, so he continued on.

"This is the latest I've ever stayed up." He mused to himself that night, the night air feeling warmer than the day with the lack of wind. That thought made him smile, since he knew Father was very strict about schedules. The moon was bright and round, a full moon, and Sephiroth decided he liked the moon. He had never seen it for real before, only in pictures. He was looking forward to feeling the sun as well.

By the time the moon set, Sephiroth had reached the bottom of the mountain, and had seen grass for the first time, as well as a creek and fish. The water woke him up a little, as he had been yawning constantly by then, and it soothed his sore feet and hands, which were blistered and scraped from walking and falling a few times.

Deciding that he now knew what happiness felt like, Sephiroth climbed a tree and dazedly watched the brilliant orange and gold sunrise across the horizon.

He fell asleep with a smile, even though he was still hungry.

X

The Planet was immense, in every sense of the word.

It was in size, to accommodate the life and creatures that depended on it for survival. It was in being, that it decided what lives or died or even returned to life.

It was in ability, to where certain events were going to happen, no matter what those small flickers of life tried to do against its own great flame.

The Planet was ageless, in that it was still young and had so many more seconds-minutes-hours-days-months-years-centuries- decades-millinia to live before it came close to aging; and many times that before it was supposed to slow down.

Alongside the Planet was the Lifestream, the breath and the source of knowledge and living that it used and gave back to the creatures on it. The Planet knew full well about the dangers to its existence and the continuity of everything on it. Jenova may be gone, as well as her curse of Geostigma, but the effects were always going to be felt. Changing fate – _challenging_ fate – had cost a lot just to use the path of least resistance to fight the cancer against its life. That path was a single being; one specific soul destined to suffer and sacrifice so much for so little personal reward.

The Planet, it should be noted, was a Goddess of her own right. And any Goddess was bound to feel maternal to the lives under her care, especially to the lives so closely involved in her own. She would do as much as she could to show her awareness to those she truly loved.

Being the immense, ageless, able and all aware Goddess she was, the Planet was also a woman.

And everyone knows how crafty women could be. Fate was a woman herself, and thus, Destiny was rerouted when one young man ran into a messenger from the Planet Goddess, Gaia.

X

Cloud was always fascinated with chocobos as a child. It was a fascination born of a thrill for speed and nature.

Then Cloud discovered motor vehicles, and motion sickness kind of killed the interest. Kind of. The entire Sephiroth adventure brought him close to the great birds out of necessity, and even after the Geostigma pandemic Cloud found that he often had to cross the ranches around the lands filled with the birds to complete his deliveries.

Now, however, he really wished this odd chocobo would stop following him!

The black Chocobo had only been with him for a few hours. It had found him resting along a stream next to his bike and helped itself to the trail mix Cloud had bought a few days ago but hadn't eaten yet. Despite the surprise, Cloud only stared in stunned silence until the bird finished the small bag, had a drink from the stream, and greeted him with a cheerful croon. The bird then followed him with ease as he made his way to the town of his destination on his bike.

"Kweh!" Cloud swerved sharply through the trees on Fenrir, cursing the dark shadows cast about in the twilight of the forest. Black Chocobos were impossible to breed, right! And if someone did get one, who would be crazy enough to let it go? Especially since it was fast enough to keep up with Fenrir's near top speed.

Actually, that may be why it was following him; it was probably tame and lost and saw him as a human who could take care of it.

"Shit!"

"Wark!"

Cloud hated his luck, too. The blinding sunset had shielded the boundaries of the forest behind trees and light beams to where neither man nor bird had seen what was awaiting them outside the relative safety of the trees.

There was a monster waiting for them, inevitably being run into.

Cloud's motorcycle was swat away as if it were a fly. The chocobo had, thankfully, caught him before he landed on a rocky patch of ground that wouldn't have cushioned his fall at all. Cloud flinched at the dull resonance and tympani that sounded from Fenrir crashing into the ground. First Tsurugi already on his back, and the chocobo behind him annoyingly enough, Cloud prepared to fight as the monster reared back and charged at him in rage.

Normally, monsters are not a problem for Cloud to take care of. He'd taken care of plenty of threats to his safety, as well as the safety of his friends and even the Planet.

Except this creature, some strange monster he'd never encountered or even heard of. It was a thick bodied beast, mammalian with sharp spikes of fur running along its spine and horns along its crown. It had a mane of serpents, its tail was a wisp of elements, and its breath was black and no doubt poisonous, and it had large toes with even larger claws. Materia had no effect on it, at least nothing that could have helped Cloud. Stop would speed it up. Mini would enrage and strengthen it. Fire and Blizzard was reflected back to him with double the strength. His sword couldn't pierce through the hide either.

It was the most difficult battle Cloud had fought.

Not to mention the Black Chocobo was still trying to stay next to him.

"Move!" Cloud demanded as he jumped over his own bike (he made a note of where it was and a part of him was already thinking of the repairs he had to make to it) and aborted his preemptive strike with First Tsurugi. The bird had attacked before him and was clinging to the beast's face with amazing dexterity from its claws, but was still _completely in the way_!

"ROAR!"

The Planet relaxed, content with her plan. The illnesses and struggles that she suffered will now be relieved marginally. Hopefully it would be cured, or even prevented.

Her caretaker wept and made one last wish for the blond youth outside of the Lifestream.

The messenger prepared himself.

Cloud swore, tightening his grip with determination.

The beast glowed, its fur, talons and horns glowing in ominous colors as the sky darkened and the wind picked up unnaturally.

There was a loss of sound, and then of sight. Cloud felt something press gently to his forehead, making him feel suddenly very shy and insecure. Then the heat and freezing pain slapped him sharply, forcing his last breath, and he couldn't breathe fast enough as he panted to make up for it.

The sky was in front of him, gravity under him. As he caught his breath, feeling very much like he had just gotten slapped in the back, Cloud slowly looked around him. His fingers flexed, and he was relieved to feel the hilt of his sword still in his grasp. That didn't stop the world from spinning in his head though.

"Kweh..." Cloud turned to his side and immediately raised his free hand to his mouth. Nausea surrounded him and he stared blankly at the black chocobo lying a few feet away as he tried to concentrate on breathing and not throwing up. A part of his mind reeled with thoughts; the monster, what happened, why he wasn't injured, where he was-

"Urg, what are you-?" Cloud was cut off again when the chocobo chirped pathetically at him. It was lying on its stomach and looking at him with imploring bright blue eyes, and nudged his head with its beak again.

"Kweh..." It sighed mournfully before resting its head on his chest. Cloud frowned, but cautiously pet it anyway.

"I don't suppose you know what happened?" The bird closed its eyes and whistled another sigh with exaggerated helplessness. Cloud raised an eyebrow. If he didn't know any better, he'd bet the bird was lying; except bird can't lie. They weren't human.

After a few more minutes of getting his bearings, Cloud shooed the bird away for space and stood up. The fields around him rippled in the wind, and Cloud was suddenly struck with a very scary realization.

"There isn't a forest anywhere near here." He peered over the long patches of grass that he didn't remember seeing as he fought that monster. "I can't see Fenrir either. What happened?" He asked himself again. He hummed with irritation when the chocobo once more rubbed his head with its beak.

"Wark…" It crooned as if uneasy. Cloud ran his fingers through the feathers of its neck before taking out his phone. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance when the bird pushed against his shoulder for more attention. He ignored it and flipped his phone open.

He had no signal.

"Well, there goes the easy way." He grunted as the bird pushed harder against him. He pushed it away and started walking.

The Planet was annoyed. This wasn't what she wanted at all. Her caretaker made a wish that had interfered, but she would make it work regardless. Her messenger was still in place, and so she should just... Yes, she will make her caretaker the one for the Other...

Time continued on, unaware that it had been manipulated.

X

"What?" Cloud stared. His chocobo, whom he was calling Bird for now, looked over his shoulder curiously. The man in front of them raised an eyebrow.

"Just what I was saying. Those crazy rich folks 're always coming 'round here and sett'n their stuff in our towns. Why, just last month they started that there project," Cloud was still staring at the plot of land under construction as the man carried on. "Mako Reacters, they're call'n it."

"When did this start?" Cloud asked, feeling so confused he was half sure he was dreaming some strange nightmare. He could feel his heart speeding up even as his expression remained calm and neutrally interested. The farmer hitched his bag higher before shrugging.

"'Bout some month ago, I reckon. This Shinra fellow came waving around a paper contract and started talking to our mayor. Took a week of negotiat'n and another few days fer supplies to be brought in. A few workers from other places and Wham! Lookie here, a construction zone. I guess it'll be nice to have 'lectricity though. Better than chopp'n wood when we don't wanna go getting our tree lines no wider."

"Kweh!" Bird complained in boredom, bringing the farmer's attention to him again.

"Say, though, that's a really interestin color fer a chocobo. Where you get him?" Cloud took a moment to register the question, and only answered because the black bird had tugged at his hair.

"He found me and hasn't left me since." The black bird fluffed his feathers in self-satisfaction.

"That so? Looks mighty strong and pretty smart too." Bird was preening under the praises.

"I guess." Cloud took a breath and finally tore his gaze from the trucks pulling into the finished half of the reactor. With his audience no longer stuck staring at the conversation starter, the man started walking to his truck.

"Be sure to keep a close eye on it. There's some sneak shadowing the villages and towns in the area. It's letting loose all sorts of farm critters and stock."

"Yeah?" Cloud looked at Bird, wondering if he could set it up for it to stop following him.

"Yup. Folks say it started near the foot of Mt. Nibelheim. Some say a ray of moonlight is the reason. Others say it's a creature of silver fur. I heard my neighbor say it was a kid, but no one really knows. Why would a kid be traveling four miles into field just to mess with a farm lock?" The man laughed heartily, but Cloud only listened with half an ear.

"Yeah, crazy." He murmured, wondering if Bird would even allow himself to be set free. Bird warbled and clucked to himself as he followed the two closely. He turned to the man as he heard the slam of a closing vehicle door.

"Well, I thank ya fer the help. See ya 'round, friend."

"Sure. Thank you too." Cloud stood by the road as the man got his truck started and pulled into the road. It was an old style truck, and Cloud wondered how long the man had it for.

It was an easier question to think about, rather than wonder why there was a Mako Reactor being built behind him.

"And these people have no idea what the Shin-Ra Company is." Cloud realized before he resolutely started walking to the next town. He refused to stay in this one, with a Mako Reactor in its backyard.

Plus the people staring at Bird were getting as annoying as the people who used to stare at him for being Cloud Strife, World Savior. (A part of him noted that not only did he not recognize the town, but the town didn't recognize him, which was both odd as well.)

He hit a bump at the edge of town though as something small collided into him. He caught the small body by the shoulders before the child could fall.

A flash of frayed silver, with a splash of feline green; there was a child with short chin-length hair, pale skin, and dirty clothes in front of him.

Sephiroth? A clone? Hojo's work, it had to be, but how!? The man had been dead for years!

The little boy cringed and Cloud realized he must look very menacing with a scowl and impressive sword on his back. Clearing his thoughts – not wanting to think about them anyway – slowly loosened his fingers and let the small shoulders go. The weight of his sword made itself known as he struggled not to grasp the familiar hilt.

"Sorry," He apologized. His mind was screaming for answers to the question _What is going on!?_ "I didn't see you." Then Cloud got a closer look.

This child was far too thin. He also had many scratches and abrasions along his arms, and he was barefoot. His leg pants were matted along the bottom with dirt and his knees were darkened from falling on them often. His skin was pale and bruised along his wrists and from what can be spotted of his shoulders. . His clothes, no doubt once white, were tinted brown and fraying in places.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was going either." Cloud knew that voice. It was slightly softer with age, but the identity was undeniable. Those cat slit eyes were also very unmistakable, despite how he was avoiding direct eye contact.

This child was Sephiroth.

"Kweh." Bird chirped and cooed at the child – and he was a _child_! – as Cloud forced himself to take a step back. His instincts were conflicting. Sephiroth was in front of him, he had to fight before he could be brought down. Except, this was a child! He would never raise his sword to a child's neck, no matter who it was!

The first thing he felt was disbelief. Then a numbness took over, as it normally did. Cloud realized a long time ago he had gotten used to the unbelievable amount of times he had to kill Sepheroth only to see him come back to life to be killed again. This was, however, the first time he had seen such a young clone of his once idol.

He tried to think of something other than the fact that Sephiroth was a child in front of him!

"Are you alright?" He found himself asking instead, eyes trained on the boy's slightly flushed face and the scabs along his arms that Cloud knew were needle tracks. Sephiroth took a step back and nodded with a forced smile.

"Yes, very much so. I'm outside." He said as if Cloud knew what he was talking about – and Cloud tried not to admit that he could guess what exactly Sephiroth meant. There was a call for the sheriff in the distance and Sephiroth's eyes focused sharply. "I must go. Goodbye, mister!" And the little boy vanished in a swirl of short silver and off white, scampering to the trees and effectively disappearing.

Cloud stood in place, a random newspaper drifting along to catch on his leg. He picked it up, prepared to crumble it to throw away, but his eyes caught something that suddenly made everything make sense as much as it confused him even more.

The date was December 16, 1971.

Cloud may not know the date for weeks at a time when he was traveling, but he was fairly certain it was supposed to be June, 2000. Though, now that he thought about it, he had heard news of the snow starting to fall and make the river water colder and slower. He took out his phone, suddenly realizing that Tifa hadn't called since yesterday.

"No service." And that was odd. His phone had service everywhere; it had to with his job. The black chocobo looked at him from where it had been staring at the trees Sephiroth disappeared in.

"Kweh!" It looked sassy. Cloud pushed its big head away from him. He had to get out of the town. He had a really bad feeling in his gut.

X

"Freedom is wonderful." Sephiroth said as he gently pet the small animal in awe. He'd never pet an animal before. Behind a fence stood many herding canines, and the sheep they kept. The little puppy whom Sephiroth was talking to was an eager creature willing to take a few ear scratches from a stranger. Sephiroth liked the shaggy fur between his fingers and was content to pet the animal through the fence.

Until he realized there didn't need to be a fence between them at all.

If Sephiroth enjoyed his life away from captivity, everything should be happier when free. With that thought, Sephiroth considered the fence in front of him.

Let it be known that the logic of children is not easily swayed.

Thus found a little boy, with messy silver/grey hair and dirty, worn clothes that were once white, now various shades of brown and green, who was running out of town as fast as he could manage. Which was surprisingly very fast.

The papers had caught on after the next seven incidents. There was something (or someone) sabotaging all farmers and stock keepers.

Sephiroth felt extremely proud of himself, when he wasn't thinking about how hungry he seemed to be. Or how sore and tired he always was. Or how much he started coughing and sneezing. Or how the blisters on his feet or the scrapes on his legs seemed to be more sensitive and tender.

Then the white bird found him. He had been looking through the fields of grass for the berry bushes he liked to eat from. He wasn't having much luck with catching fish, but he didn't know how to start a fire to cook it with, so he wasn't too worried. The giant white bird seemed to have made up its mind to follow Sephiroth everywhere. It even started to offer him vegetables, like carrots. Where it found these, Sephiroth had no idea. But he liked having the bird to talk to and pet. And it was warm during the cold nights.

"Shh." He would tell the bird as he plotted his next bout at freeing-everything-captive. The bird would cluck as if laughing at him (only he knew birds didn't laugh, so he didn't know what to call it) but would obey. Then Sephiroth would run towards it as soon as he unlocked whatever gate he had to open, calling out, "Run run run run run run!" Repeatedly.

The bird started picking him up by his clothes after he tripped a few times to run away from the scenes of his crimes.

After a few more weeks, when they had been walking through some fields for food, Sephiroth started to feel really nauseous. It wasn't a new feeling, and he knew he was sick, but this day was especially difficult. He couldn't think of anything more than wanting to pet the big white bird that adopted him or nibbling on whatever it was that it put in front of him. His head hurt, it hurt to breathe, it hurt more to cough, and more than that when he swallowed, and his feet and hands felt really cold even as the rest of his body burned.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he did remember waking up a few times swaying from the tall bird's beak as it ran through the cool breeze quickly. He had the vague feeling of panic coming from the bird, but he couldn't feel anything other than detachment, even when he heard howling and snarling around him.

He closed his eyes, trying not to cough from the clouds of dirt or grasses that would cover him when the white bird would suddenly jerk in a different direction. He would much rather be asleep.

X

Cloud panted harshly as he lowered his blade, monster defeated. He had been coping the best way he knew how, fighting, after he had learned what was going on around him.

He was somehow in the past, an entire four years before he was born.

"Wark!" Cloud gave a half-hearted glare to the black chocobo.

"What do you want now, Zephyr?" He asked, having settled on a name when it became obvious the bird wouldn't leave him. The chocobo gave a hard look at his sword before ruffling his feathers as if offended.

"Wark!" Cloud had the feeling he was being scolded.

"I don't speak chocobo." He said flatly before looking around for any other monsters to kill in the fields he was in. He needed a distraction. Hopefully, he was dreaming. If he got injured enough he might wake up. He'd already been in the middle of nowhere fighting monster after monster for almost twelve hours.

"Wark!"

"What are you-!" Cloud forced himself to not kick at Zephyr when the bird lunged at him, successfully making him drop his sword as those giant claws made to slash at his sword hand. The bird whistled irritably as it paced over the sword, glaring at him. "What? You want me to take a break?" Cloud asked, unable to understand that this chocobo was bossing him around. That may be from the lack of sleep in seventy or so hours. Zephyr shook his tail feathers and sat on the sword. Cloud crossed his arms, wondering how he could push the giant bird away without killing it.

"Kweh…" That coo sounded like a warning.

"What? You want me to stop?" Cloud asked, surprised but more angry when Zephyr nodded. "You want me to stop?" He asked flatly. The black chocobo whistled highly. "Give me my sword, now."

"Wark."

"I don't think you really understand, you bird-brained pillow stuffing!"

"Wark!" Zephyr sat taller, fluffing more in offense.

"We're in the past!" Cloud screamed, hyperaware that his voice was echoing. "Get it!? The _past_! I'm not even born yet! Most of my friends aren't born yet! The Planet is going to suffer and kill everything and everyone again!"

"Wark!"

"Everything I've done – Everything I'd suffered and sacrificed and destroyed in myself to protect everyone was for nothing! It was all for _nothing_! What the hell have I been doing with my life!? Everything means nothing now! Zack's death! Aerith's death; Their sacrifices don't mean anything now that they're not even born yet! Give me my sword you overgrown canary! I don't have Tifa to kick my ass or Denzel to guilt trip me so the next best thing is either flying on Fenrir or killing everything I can! Move!" Cloud charged at the chocobo, but Zephyr was ready, braced and prepared for the superhuman WEAPON in front of him.

He was the messenger of the planet, and he had a message to deliver.

Cloud found himself thrown onto his back, wind knocked out of him and balance shot. He groaned as he felt a heavy weight settle slowly onto his stomach.

'I just got flipped by a bird.' He thought dazedly as he tried to regain his breath. Granted, Zephyr was easily twice his height, but he was still a bird.

"Kweh." Zephyr chirped, nuzzling Cloud's head as if petting him. The sky was darkening around them, and the twilight colors brought back memories in Cloud's mind. The unruly dark feathers in his face only made it all seem more worthy of déjà vu. Cloud closed his eyes, unable to prevent the tears of helplessness welding up in his chest.

"Zack..."

"Kweh..." Cloud just tried to breathe.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already set and the sky was liberally sprinkled with clear stars on a black and violet sky. Zephyr chirped inquiringly at him, eyes focused on his. He sat up and pushed the bird away a little. Zephyr only scooted off his lap, but remained close enough to simply roll over if he wanted to restrain him again.

"I'm fine. Don't you dare make this a habit." Cloud warned with narrowed eyes. Zephyr did nothing that indicated he understood. "Great, now I'm actually expecting him to understand me. Cloud, it's official; You've become insane under all the stress between childhood and adulthood." With a sigh, Cloud allowed himself to lie on his back again.

"Kweh..." Zephyr cuddled close, as awkwardly as it was.

"I'm in the past." He mused quietly. "We traveled through time. I need a place. I need money. I need an _identity_." Cloud groaned to himself.

He couldn't go by Cloud Strife anymore. He wasn't going to do the Planet's bidding. He may have wished he never had to save the world, he may have wished someone else had saved him from being the chosen one, but every experience made him who he was. He was not going to prevent himself from becoming him.

Cloud put a hand to his head.

"I have a headache." He said as he realized he was dehydrated too. His stomach growled.

"Wark."

"Shut up Zephyr." The black chocobo's feather wilted down and he started clucking to himself.

Cloud was given the impression he was being called names.

X

"You sure are handy with that sword! Thank you so much!" Cloud hefted the small pouch full of gil. His reward for clearing the recent pack of monsters sighted in the nearby towns.

"No, thank you."

"I still think you're crazy for wanting to build a place in the middle of nowhere." Cloud gave a bashful smile. "But, you'll be fine. You can take care of yourself and then some! If not, why, your noble steed sure looks ready to help!"

"Kweh!" Zephyr preened under the shower of compliments coming from the town children and their parents.

"Say, I'll give you a discount on our lumber if you come back every one in a while to help out again."

"I can give you a great deal on window panes!"

"I can get my husband to give you metal work for pretty cheap!" Before the crowd could voice their enthusiasm and growing eagerness to reward him, Cloud cleared his throat and stepped closer to Zephyr as he tucked the pouch of money away.

"Thanks, but this is all I need for now. I promise to come back every once in a while, really. You all know where I plan to build my house anyway." Cloud tugged lightly on Zephyr's harness and hoisted himself up.

"Bye Daka!"

"Come back soon, Daka!"

"Bye Zephyr!"

Cloud Strife, now Daka Fenrir, had been in the past for a month. He hadn't seen Sephiroth since that first day encounter, but a part of his thoughts still worried about him. In fact, he was determined to not worry at all about the boy. He wasn't going to do anything to change history.

As a means to focus himself away from the world and the fact that he was in the past, Cloud had been slowly earning money to build a home in the fields a little south from the mountains of his hometown. The surrounding towns were full of monsters he hunted and cleared for the townspeople, so he already had a fair amount of money.

Right now, he was simply concentrating on fencing of the few acres of field he wanted for Zephyr to have a pasture. He was fine with camping out in a simple tend and a small cooking fire until he could build a small home.

"Come on, Zephyr. Let's call it a day and head to camp." The bird looked at him with one blue eye before sighing dramatically and drooping his head as he started trotting somberly. "What? What's wrong with you this time, you drama queen?" Zephyr squawked as he stopped and gave an insulted look. "I call it how I see it." Cloud said. Zephyr shook him off his back. He landed on his feet, his sword falling from the strap he had on the bird. "Hey! Fine, be that way." The chocobo fluffed his tail feathers and started taking long strides away from Cloud. Cloud snorted softly, bending down to pick up his sword.

"-eh!" Cloud and Zephyr looked at each other before looking out over the three feet high grass. The town was still visible, but the sound didn't come from there. "Kweh!" Zephyr had his full attention on the sound of another chocobo. A chocobo in distress.

"Wark!" Zephyr called out sharply before turning to Cloud expectantly.

"Kweh! Wark!" Cloud swiftly mounted again, keeping First Tsurugi in his hand and ready.

"Fly, Zephyr." The chocobo didn't need the command to start running. Zephyr flew swiftly on his feet through the grasses, like his namesake. A spot of white was soon seen in the low slopping valley, as well as a few dark colored monsters standing out over the clean green of the fields.

"Wark!" The other chocobo, white by the looks of it, was surrounded. It seemed to have a little chick under its body where it stood protectively. Why it was nowhere near a forest was a question Cloud didn't bother to worry about.

"Thundaga!" Cloud cried out, not comfortable with how close everything was to swing his sword. He had better accuracy with his Materia, aiming at the ten or so monsters surrounding the parent chocobo. The beasts broke off, scattered from the electricity striking them directly.

"Wark! WARK!" Zephyr charged after one side of the group, separating them further from the white chocobo, while Cloud leaped off and slashed at the other half from between them and their quasi-captive.

"Hiss..." Cloud paid no mind to the hissing bird behind him. He charged forward, easily striking through a group of three monsters. Zephyr screeched angrily as he disposed of some of his own enemies.

Soon, the field was silent and calm again. Cloud secured his sword and faced the white chocobo, surprised it was still standing where it was. It was crouched low. Cloud could tell it was pretty much sitting on something, probably its chick.

"Hey there. You alright?"

"Hissss..." The white chocobo held its beak open threateningly with a claw ready to slash.

"Kweh." Zephyr cooed from where he was. He trotted next to Cloud. His feathers were messy but he wasn't suffering anything from his scuffle. "Kweh!" He chirped excitedly. The white chocobo's feathers hesitantly smoothed down, and Cloud suddenly realized that the bird was smaller than he thought. It was most likely the mother. Cloud had no idea about the family schematics of chocobo.

"I'm glad you're alright. What are you doing so far from home?" He asked, referring to the forests at least twelve hours southeast, by chocobo.

"Kweh!" Zephyr chirped. The white chocobo raised its head a little, staring at them with slight curiosity. "Kweh!" Zephyr chirped again, lowering his own head in an obvious try to look underneath the other bird. The white bird ruffled her feathers as if offended, or defensive, but then smoothed again before looking at Cloud. She blinked once and stood a little taller.

"Kweh..." It chirped in a pleading tone. She stepped away from her chick, and Cloud gasped.

"Wark!" Zephyr took an immediate step away in surprise.

"Sephiroth!?" Cloud didn't know why Sephiroth had been adopted by a chocobo, but the child was obviously not well.

"Kweh!" The white bird chirped at him again. Despite Cloud's thoughts roaring at him to _get away! Don't get involved!_ he took a shaky step closer. When he wasn't immediately berated, he dashed to the little boy's side.

Sephiroth was flushed with fever, and Cloud could now hear the harsh panting and wheezing from his lungs. Sephiroth was sick, and he needed help a chocobo just couldn't give. As Cloud gently brought the little boy into his arms, automatically trying to adjust the boy in the most comfortable position he could, Zephyr threw a tantrum. Cloud ignored it, not even bothering to pay attention really, and the white chocobo swiftly beat the black into submission and quiet.

"Sephiroth..." The child coughed, a painful barking sound, and rolled his face into Cloud's shirt. He gave a weak moan, delusional no doubt, before settling. Cloud could feel the boy's fever through his clothes. He settled the small boy against his chest instead of in his arms, resting a reassuring hand on the boy's head. His hair, now barely below his shoulders, was matted with mud, sweat and grass. His skin was sunburned in places and sickly pale in others. Standing up, Cloud also noted that the child Sephiroth weight much too light for him to feel comfortable. He looked between the two birds.

Zephyr was laying stomach and neck to the ground, the white chocobo standing with a foot clutching the harness. He frowned at them. Cloud couldn't remember if the special coloring to the birds meant anything. He was barely familiar with the standard Yellow, Green, Blue, and Gold.

"We're going to camp, now."

"Wark..." Zephyr answered from his spot. The white chocobo only let go of the harness, looking at Cloud expectantly. Cloud settled on Zephyr slowly, not wanting to jostle the boy, and was surprised by the care Zephyr took to stand up smoothly. Then again, with the white chocobo staring at him, Zephyr probably just didn't want to get beat up again.

(A part of Cloud vindictively decided to never let the troublesome bird live the fact down.)

"Let's go." Cloud said, not bothering to whip the harness. Both chocobo traveled swiftly, and Cloud allowed himself to stare at the child he held.

Sephiroth's hair was dirty, looking dark blond and almost brown as opposed to the shining silver Cloud was familiar with. Cloud was amazed to notice just how young he really was. He still had the roundness in his face marking his youth. To Cloud, Sephiroth had always been so much older than he was, more mature and able; to see him so vulnerable and suffering was actually frightening.

'He's nothing like how I knew him.' He realized.

Once again, Cloud wondered how Sephiroth came to be on his own. If Cloud hadn't been around, he would have no doubt died. Time was changing, and Cloud didn't know what to expect. He had wanted to stay away from everything that he lived through before; now he was becoming so deeply involved again, he wasn't sure what he should do or expect.

"Did this happen last time, too?" He asked the unconscious child. Sephiroth whimpered in pain as he clutched at Cloud's jacket. Cloud gently took his hand in his own, hyperaware of how warm and small he was to himself.

He arrived at his camping site and didn't bother to wait for Zephyr to lower himself to dismount. He slid off smoothly and kicked his sleeping gear open to lay Sephiroth onto. He grabbed his two canteens and considered how full they were, as well as how long it would take to get a fresh fire going. He tied one of his canteens to Zephyr's harness after shifting all the water into one of his pots.

"Go drown that in the lake and bring the water back." He ordered. He refused to be impressed when Zephyr chirped agreeably and then ran to the lake up north.

"Kweh." The white chocobo cooed from where she was standing next to Sephiroth.

"Can you go look for some wood?" Cloud asked, unsure just how smart this chocobo was. He relaxed when the great bird perked up at the order and chirped positively before running into the grasses towards the small cluster of trees randomly growing about. Cloud started a fire with what he still had, planning to distill the water he had for Sephiroth to sip on. He would get a soup going later, after he cleaned Sephiroth as much as possible.

A part of him wished for Tifa, or Reeve. They've handled ill children before. Another part wished for his mother, and Aerith. They could heal anything. He suddenly remembered the vial of Holy Water from Aerith's pool, and the fact that Sephiroth had Jenova's cells in him. Could he…? Should he…?

Sephiroth shivered in his blankets, squirming around, and Cloud moved before he realized what he could do.

His hand rested on the boy's forehead, and Sephiroth settled quietly. He sighed. He didn't want to be involved, but it seemed he never had a choice.

X

Sephiroth didn't break his fever until a week later. Cloud had almost given up on him, being that the child hadn't been able to stay awake long enough to try to eat anything or to sip more than a few mouthfuls of water and diluted Holy Water. Not to mention that alongside of his sickness, Sephiroth also had many of his once minor wounds seriously infected, especially along his feet and hands where he no doubt had many blisters popped. Fortunately, he was getting better. Cloud had nothing medicinal to help the child, and couldn't risk bringing the boy to a village for help. Moving him would have made him worse and he refused to leave him alone to go to town. The best he could do was try to get something in the boy's body and keep him fairly cool and clean.

Now, Sephiroth slept quietly, his breathing less labored and his skin less flushed and sweaty. He wasn't well, but he would be soon. The white chocobo, whom Cloud started calling Angel, rested close to the boy, offering warmth against the cool winds in the valley.

"Alright, Angel," Cloud said as he hitched the long lengths of wood to the small carriage to Zephyr. "Just call out if anything happens. I'll send Zephyr back once I get to the end of the fence I'm building, so you shouldn't be alone for long. Come on, Zephyr. I got work to do." Zephyr was obviously put out, giving Cloud sad eyes when the blond would catch them.

"Kweh..." He whistled sadly, staring overly obvious at Angel and Sephiroth. Angel chirped in amusement. Cloud rolled his eyes and swung himself up into his seat.

"Hey, at least you're coming back. Now move," Cloud lightly kicked the black bird's sides. "I've got work to do if we want to make sure monsters don't get in this pasture-to-be." That seemed to be goal worthy, so Zephyr chirped in determination and started sprinting to where Cloud had left off at his project.

As soon as Cloud said the word, the black bird was off back to Angel and Sephiroth. Cloud let him, not feeling the need to remind the bird that they had done a thorough job of clearing out the monsters just before finding the boy; before setting camp where it was, actually.

Cloud stretched in the sun, ready to finish working. He could see both ends of the fencing. He planned to start figuring out how to make a hinge gate soon.

He ended up working until late afternoon, not having Zephyr around to remind him about lunch. Leaving his tools where they were, protected in the wagon, Cloud headed back.

He may not be able to make the day trip to a town for help, but he could definitely stay close enough to be there for the boy if something happened. Having the two chocobo willing to be baby sitters and monster fighters helped his peace of mind immensely.

X

Sephiroth felt heavy and stiff, but warm and comfortable. He didn't want to wake up, but he was already awake so he blearily opened his eyes. A white mass of feathers told him the white chocobo was still with him, but the black mess of feathers next to her confused him. He absently wondered if the white chocobo had black feathers anywhere he hadn't noticed, but then he noticed that there were two different sets of whistles.

There was a black chocobo with him now.

'I'm collecting birds.' He noted with a tired smile. He liked birds. He wished he was a bird, but he wanted to be one that could fly. 'Can chocobo fly?' He wondered. If so, he wanted to be a chocobo. The white chocobo that followed him around treated him like he was her baby chocobo. 'Sephiroth the silver chocobo.'

"Kweh." Sephiroth suddenly noticed the white chocobo's face looking at him. He slowly reached out to pet it, soon bringing his arm back into the warmth of the blanket cocooned around him. It was cold outside. It was getting dark, too. Or light. It was twilight, and there was a fire burning brightly somewhere near him.

"Kweh!" The other chocobo chirped. Sephiroth stared at it when it brought its own face close to study him. Its eyes were blue, rather than green like the white ones.

"Move, Zephyr." A man ordered. Sephiroth blinked before tensing. He suddenly realized that he couldn't have made the fire, neither could the chocobo, and the blankets had to come from somewhere. A man kneeled next to him. "Hey, kid. You've been sick for a while. I'm glad to see you more awake. How are you feeling?" He asked. Sephiroth carefully swallowed to answer the man.

"My head hurts." He whispered, his throat refusing to speak louder.

"Sore throat, too." The man noted. Sephiroth flinched when a cold hand was placed along his forehead. "Still a slight fever, but not as warm as before. You think you can swallow some water on your own? I bet you're pretty thirsty." Sephiroth nodded carefully, trying to bury his head into the covers more. "Alright. Come on, let's sit up." Sephiroth tried not to pout.

"It's cold." He complained, not moving the blankets away.

"I know. Come on." To his surprise, Sephiroth was not required to push the blankets off of his body. The nice blond man with glowing blue eyes simply pulled the blankets closer and let him sit up with them still wrapped around him. With the man's arm supporting his back, Sephiroth was able to wiggle a hand in front of him to hold a cup of water to his lips. The man steadied the shaking cup so he didn't spill anything on himself.

He was much more thirsty than he thought.

"Slow down, kid, or you'll choke." The man said as he pulled the cup away slightly. Sephiroth kept his hand on the cup to prevent it from leaving his lips, but concentrated on taking his time. The man placed his hand over his to help him steady it. He finished after another moment. "There. Add a little Potion and I expect you to be well soon." Sephiroth yawned, idly wonder what he was sick with. "Go ahead and sleep. Hopefully you'll wake soon for some food."

He felt his stomach grumble a little, and decided he should try to get better faster with something in his body.

"I wanna try now." He said softly, wondering what the man will want him to do after he was well.

"Alright. I think some broth might help. Here, let me get you a bowl of soup and we'll see how much you can eat." Sephiroth suddenly noticed the smell of stew of something hearty with meat and vegetables simmering over a fire. He also noticed, as the man let him lay down again, that this stranger had the biggest and most unusual sword on his back. He wondered who the man was; he looked kind of familiar.

"Kweh…" The white chocobo cooed softly, settling close to his blanket-bundled self. He had a feeling the man would make her move like the blank one, but the man pet her instead when he came back from the fire.

"You have a really nice chocobo here. Smart and pretty too. I've been calling her Angel. What's her name?"

"I don't know. She found me and stayed."

"Yeah? Zephyr did that with me too. Angel probably thinks of you like her chick. Her baby chocobo." The man commented as she settled close again, a bowl of soup in his hands. Sephiroth smiled, once more thinking of a chocobo with silver feathers like his hair.

'Sephiroth the silver chocobo.' He mentally giggled, too tired to do it outside his mind. Then he watched the man with fascinated awe. The man scoop a small spoonful, brought it to his lips, and blew on it for a moment.

Sephiroth couldn't remember a time when anyone had taken the care to check every one of his bites to make sure it wasn't too hot. He thought mothers were the only ones who did that for children, but this man, this stranger, was taking care of him more than anyone else ever had.

He mutely opened his mouth when the food was offered. The broth was slightly watery, but Sephiroth could taste every vegetable seeped into it and the taste of meat was faint enough to be appreciated. Swallowing it even helped his throat feel better, neither being too hot or too cold. It was a small mouthful, but Sephiroth easily told himself that it was the most delicious food he'd ever tasted. It was a shame he could already tell he wouldn't be able to eat too much.

"So, what's your name kid?" The man asked as he took his time to cool off his next bite.

"Sephiroth." He replied before realizing he didn't want to take the chance of someone making him return to Father.

"Yeah? I'm Daka. Daka Fenrir." The man introduced quietly, not really looking at him. To Sephiroth's surprise, Daka didn't ask anything else.

X

"Why did you take care of me, Daka?" Sephiroth asked two weeks later. His illness was completely gone, and Daka had declared him healthy enough to travel. Rations were getting low, and Daka said he didn't want to leave him alone since the town was more than a few hours away at Zephyr's full speed. The man blinked at him blankly.

"You were ill. Why wouldn't I?" Sephiroth looked at his hands. The blankets from Daka's sleeping bag covered them, but he could see the mound that implied where they were. He watched the blankets shift as he fiddled with his fingers.

"No one else did." He said softly. He had been shooed away from many places, and even though he assumed it was his state of poverty and homelessness, he was confused to why Daka was different.

"You're a child. You shouldn't need to be on your own, especially when ill. You should have a guardian to take care of you; keep you healthy, happy, and well."

"But no one else did. Even before I left, no one did that."

"Then I will." Sephiroth stared. "I'll take care of you, for as long as you want, okay?" Daka wasn't looking at him, but Sephiroth knew the man was sincere. He might be a little embarrassed, but he wasn't trying to trick him. Sephiroth wanted to trust him.

"Okay." He said softly, moving his gaze to his covered hands again as Daka turned to look at him.

"Kweh!" Zephyr cheered, startling Sephiroth before the bird started nuzzling him.

"Zephyr, get off of him! He still recovering!" Daka ordered.

"Wark!" Zephyr defied. Sephiroth was smiling, since he knew he was healthy. Zephyr probably knew too.

"Wark!" Angel stood up threateningly. Sephiroth wondered if he was going to get hurt soon, if Angel decided to start beating up the bigger chocobo. Again. She did that sometimes, but Zephyr always nuzzled the white bird afterwards. To his relief, Zephyr was cowed and soon slinking away under the stern gazes of both Angel and Daka. He smiled wider. He kind of liked Daka and the two chocobo.

A few minutes later, and Daka had finished securing the camp. He had finished building the fencing of the pasture he claimed as his, but he didn't actually have a house yet. The man considered the two chocobo and the one saddle he had before looking at Sephiroth.

And once again, not the first time since meeting Daka, Sephiroth felt out of his element as he was lifted by his armpits for the first time he could remember. It made him feel small and not as special or superior as he was used to feeling around Father and the scientists. Daka lifted him carefully and placed him on a saddled Angel's back. It was the first time he had sat on the white bird, never having the thought cross his mind. Being picked up in her beak was enough.

Sephiroth held the reins tightly; so tightly his hands were shaking. Being held by Angel's beak as she ran was completely different than actually sitting on her back. The ground felt so far away from where he was.

"Relax, kid. You won't fall." Daka said as he tightened the saddle Sephiroth was sitting in. He just had to account for the difference in sizes between Zephyr and Angel.

"But what if I do?" Sephiroth wanted to be prepared. He didn't like getting hurt.

"I'm sure Angel can catch you before you do. But, if you do start slipping," Daka slipped a wide piece of leather over his lap, once more kneeling to Angel's side to adjust some more straps. "There. You have a seat belt now. How does that feel? Too tight?" Sephiroth flexed his legs, relaxing when they felt secure under the leather.

"No. I like this idea." Daka snorted, his way of laughing, Sephiroth figured.

"Great. Zephyr, get over here you crazy bird." He called as he swiftly finished securing the sleeping bag that Sephiroth had been in.

"Kweh!" Zephyr had been pacing around the three, chirping and whistling to himself excitedly as Daka got Sephiroth ready for the ride towards town, which was mostly checking the cargo harnesses and the two small bags that hung from them. Zephyr paced in place as Daka finished securing camp and packing up before he hoisted himself onto the black chocobo barebacked. Sephiroth felt slightly guilty for using the only harness and saddle, but he liked how Daka took care of him in ways no one else did.

"Ready?" Daka asked him. Sephiroth smiled with a shy nod. They started on an easy trot. Sephiroth was surprised with how comfortable Daka was on Zephyr, without anything to hold or sit on other than chocobo feathers. He felt strange on Angel's saddle (well, it was Zephyr's, but Angel was using it).

"Kweh!" Zephyr cheered as the breeze picked up.

"Kweh!" Angel chirped with him. The two continued to communicate in whistles and chirps as they traveled across the valley. Sephiroth felt as excited as they sounded, even though his hair kept getting into his face from the fickle wind.

"Sephiroth, why are you alone? Where are your parents?" Daka asked when the birds started cooing at each other in a quieter tone, calmer.

"Father is still at the mansion." Sephiroth answered easily, not really caring. He had no intensions of returning, so it didn't matter if Daka knew his father was still at home.

"Oh? I bet he's really worried about you. Do you know where you live?" Sephiroth contemplated how to answer. He didn't want to return to Father. He liked being out of his cage. But he also didn't wish to lie to Daka. The blond was a man Sephiroth liked. Daka turned Zephyr to walk sideways, a feat Sephiroth was sure most chocobo trainers were unable to accomplish. "Sephiroth? What is it?"

"I'm not going back." He said sternly.

"Why not? What happened?"

"I don't like it there." Daka raised an eyebrow and Sephiroth felt a little bad for sounding angry.

"That didn't tell me anything, kid. Be more clear."

"Father says I am to do what is instructed when it is told. I don't like to. Everything always hurts."

Cloud tried not to let his alarm show. Sephiroth is already being experimented on? He looked no older than five years old!

"Well, what does he do?" Sephiroth was silent for a moment and Zephyr chirped inquiringly after a moment. "Does he give you bruises? Does he make you cry for no reason?" Daka asked as the small silver haired child tried to prolong the silence. Sephiroth looked at him suspiciously. He nodded slowly.

"I don't want to return to Father." Sephiroth admit softly, looking at his hands resting over his saddle-belt. Angel chirped softly at him, turning her head to look at him with one eye. He stroked her neck feathers, reminded of the many times he would complain of Father to her when his dreams woke him in the night and he couldn't return to sleep.

"And your mother?" Daka asked quietly. Sephiroth blinked and took a breath, relieved to stop talking about his father.

"I don't know much about my mother. All I know is her name; Jenova. Father says I look like her, but I am under the impression that she is dead." Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't need a mother or father anyway. I don't want to return to the mansion." He said simply, eyeing the needle tracks nearly completely faded along his arms.

"So you plan to hide?" Sephiroth nodded.

"Y-You won't make me go back, will you?" He asked, suddenly realizing that Daka just may do that. He was a responsible adult, having taken care of him. He may feel it necessary to return Sephiroth, despite what he wanted. Daka gave him a considering look before turning to the sky as if for advice. Except even Sephiroth knew the sky couldn't talk, no matter how a person wished to the clouds or stars.

"I guess the only thing I can do is help you hide."

"I ran this far. I don't think Father will look for me here." Sephiroth chimed, extremely proud of himself.

"If he's a determined man, I wouldn't put it past him to keep looking for you. No, we need to make you disappear." Daka gave him another look. Sephiroth had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever the man was thinking of. The blond smirked, and it was a completely different look than the small lip tilts he'd given before. "Yeah. I got an idea. I did it once, and I don't see you having any problems because of your age and size..."

"What idea?" Sephiroth asked after a moment of silence.

"Have you thought of growing out your hair, Sephiroth?" Daka suddenly changed the topic. Sephiroth brought a little of his shoulder-length hair to view with a small twist of his fingers.

"Father doesn't let me keep my hair too long. He says it's unhygienic and extremely unbecoming." For some reason, that only made Daka smile. "I think I'd like to." He added. He was rewarded by the sight of Daka giving a small hearty laugh. It was an amazing event to witness, as short as it was.

"Perfect. All the better to hide you in plain sight for now. Alright Sephiroth, when we get to town, you'll become Seraphina, my daughter." Sephiroth was curious to how Daka planned to do this. Zephyr, however, started clucking and squawking as if indignant.

Or laughing, except birds don't laugh.

X

Sephiroth fingered the simple dress as he studied his new reflection in the mirror. His hair had been dyed a brilliant blond, a shade brighter than Daka's. His eyelashes and eyebrows seemed to take to the shade on his head without needing to be messed with, which Daka considered a stroke of fortune. The dress was a pale green, riding a little lower than his knees. His shoes were a simple dark brown leather pair with thin soles and minimum support. The sides were embroidered with twirling lines of orange and red. He had a dark yellow long sleeved jacket with a stiff collar that made him look more doll-like and feminine.

He looked _nearly_ unrecognizable.

Daka frowned in contemplation as he carefully pulled Sephiroth's hair into a high ponytail.

"Your eyes are the only thing we need to change." He said. Sephiroth sighed, wondering if Daka's idea would fail after all. The man had been careful as he visited various towns, leaving Angel and Sephiroth out of sight while shopping for a dress or shoes and spreading the beginnings of Seraphina's existence to the people. At the moment, they were in an inn in a small village a little south of North Corel.

Sephiroth pouted at his reflection. He hated how his eyes were always the main part of him that set him as different from everyone. It was his eyes that people first noticed, complimented, commented, or remembered.

"I suppose..." Daka murmured as he finished pulling Sephiroth's hair through the last loop of the rubber band. "we could probably use materia." He suggested. Sephiroth looked at the man through his reflection.

"What materia? What will that do?" He asked. Daka gave him a small patronizing smile.

"We can use a Manipulate and Cover materia. Manipulate normally let's you take control of your enemies, and Cover protects you. We can use them together to make people not pay attention to your eyes. Even if they do, they won't be able to do much about it with you around, especially if I'm nearby. It'll help if you avoid looking at people directly, and don't let anyone get too close to your face." Sephiroth had never heard of such materia. He certainly had never heard of them being used for such a disguise.

"Won't that take a lot of energy?" That was something he knew. The more unusual the materia, the more draining it was to use it.

"I have enough magic potential to cover you for a long time. Don't worry; just stay close." Daka reassured as he stood up from kneeling on the ground. He pulled out a small satchel from one of his pockets and fished through it for a moment. Sephiroth fingered the end of his ponytail, liking how soft the feathery edges of his hair felt now that he was clean. It reminded him of Angel. The white and black chocobos were both tethered to a post outside of the inn.

"Will someone notice you using materia?" Daka rolled the two small spheres in his palm.

"Good question. I suppose we can both use it."

"But I don't know how to use materia." Sephiroth admit, even as he wondered if such a feat was possible. Daka smirked at him through the mirror.

"You don't have to do anything other than hold the spell on you. And preventing it from breaking." He said before glancing around the room. He looked at the small array of childish hairbands spread on the bed and picked one up that had two colorful balls connected at two ends. He flicked the two balls off the metal clasps and fit the materia in their stead. The materia were smaller, but Daka simply pressed the metal claws around to better hold them in place. He looked between the now dark green hair tie and Sephiroth before his hand started glowing. "Fire." He whispered softly. Sephiroth watched in amazement as Daka controlled his magic fine enough to weld the materia into the band clasps with his fingertips.

"Wow!" He said when the man's hand stopped glowing.

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone and don't lose this, alright? Now get over here." Sephiroth presented his ponytail and watched Daka's reflection as the man twisted the materia band in place. He could feel that one of his hands were warmer, even though it never directly touched him. "Now, just let the magic hold you, okay?" Sephiroth nodded and watched his eyes in the mirror. He felt a wave of something tingling through his body, and he couldn't help but rub his eyes.

"That feels funny." He said just before he felt Daka's hands gently grab his own. He blinked a few more times before the feeling faded.

"Better?" Daka asked. Sephiroth nodded before glancing to the mirror.

His pupils were round.

"It worked!" He said proudly, pulling his hands to move closer to the mirror. After a few different angles, Sephiroth noticed Daka hadn't said anything. "It worked, didn't it?" He asked, wondering if he could only see it because the spell went wrong. Was he not supposed to tell? Daka looked at him before looking at the mirror.

"Sephiroth, I cancelled the spell. It wasn't even supposed to change your appearance. Whatever changed your eyes, you've done all on your own." Sephiroth quirked his head, a habit he knew he picked up from Angel.

"But I can't change my eyes." He stated. Daka knelt to his height again, looking at the mirror. Sephiroth turned back to the mirror to look at the man's bright blue eyes. His own pale green eyes glowed with the same intensity as the man's. Both of their pupils were round.

"Perhaps you could, but hadn't done so before." Daka said softly. Sephiroth felt insulted, even though he knew the other man didn't mean anything with his speculation.

"I would have done it a long time ago if I did." Daka placed a heavy hand on his head, and Sephiroth felt comforted.

"It's a good thing you hadn't. Now you don't have to stay so close to me, and if anyone is looking for you, they won't be able to sense or break anything that I'm doing. Good job, Sephiroth." Sephiroth smiled. It was the first time he heard such sincere praise given to him.

"Thank you." Daka stood up and Sephiroth felt a gentler tingle of magic cast on him. He looked at the older man in silence.

"For general protection anyway. Alright, Seraphina, time to get outside and into town. Remember to speak quietly with smaller words, okay?"

"Okay." Daka tossed everything laying out into his traveling bag and opened the door. Sephiroth walked after him, more nervous than he remembered ever feeling.

X

Sephiroth kicked his feet to make the swing move only a little. His dress swayed gently, and he was content to simply watch the fabric move. Children in this town, Rocket Town, were greatly varied in age. He didn't feel like talking to anyone; he never had before but he was always sought out by the children.

"Hey! You're Seraphina, right?" Sephiroth refused to pout. He just wanted to be alone as he waited for Daka to finish his business with some astronomy scholars. He stopped swinging to look at the older boy who called.

"Yes. Who are you?" He asked, just barely remembering to act like a girl. A young girl.

He had no idea how a little girl acted!

"Name's Jake. My Pa's a blacksmith in this town, with a specialty for the strange parts the astronomers need. Your Pa is Daka, right? The monster slayer?" Sephiroth nodded after a moment. He had no idea what Daka was telling everyone, but he did vaguely recall Daka saying something about him becoming the man's daughter. "That's so cool! My own Pa said something about Daka's sword being custom. Where'd he get it?"

"I don't know. He's always had it." Sephiroth said, already unimpressed and bored with this boy. The boy seemed to notice. He invited himself to the swing next to him and kept talking.

"Daka is always moving around. He was here sometime last month and got a prize from the mayor for killing these monsters that were starting to appear in town. He saved Rickie and his sister May. Oh! That's them over there! Hey! Rickie! Come over here!" Sephiroth refused to grumble. Daka said to be polite, and Father said that polite people were told more things than rude people. He had no interest in the town, but he didn't know much about it. Daka said it was an interesting town, so it must be.

"Hey Jake. Who's this?"

"Hi Jake." Sephiroth looked at his dress again when Rickie and May looked at him.

"This is Seraphina." Jake introduced. Sephiroth gave a little wave. May looked at him closely, and he suddenly felt very self conscious. Would this girl be able to tell he was a boy?

"Hi Seraphina. That's a pretty name." She said instead.

"Thank you." Sephiroth replied still unable to figure out where to look.

"Awe, you're shy huh?" Richie teased. "Ow!" May scowled at him, her fist still raised threateningly.

"Be nice." She demanded. "So, I've never seen you around town. You visiting?"

"Guys, this is Seraphina _Fenrir_!" Jake grinned. The other two were silent for a beat.

"What! Daka has a kid!?"

"No way! You're Daka's kid!?" Sephiroth nodded cautiously, unable to help but look at the two with wide eyes. He hoped his pupils stayed round. He wished he knew where Daka was.

"Mom's going to be so upset!" May giggled. Sephiroth had no idea why she was laughing. His expression must have shown this, because Richie leaned close as if to tell a secret.

"Mom has a crush on your Da. She says she doesn't, but we know she's lying."

"My Da?" What was a Da?

"Your Pa." Jake answered. Sephiroth wondered how many other ways a person could call a father.

X

Sephiroth yawned, feeling pleasantly tired as he rode Angel next to Daka and Zephyr. He felt his reigns slip out of his hands, but wasn't too worried about losing control of the white chocobo. She knew to follow Zephyr. A deep chuckle sounded from next to him, and he opened his eyes curiously. Daka was giving him a smile. It wasn't big, but it was the biggest he'd seen on the man yet.

"I take it you had a good time?" Sephiroth smiled slowly and nodded. Angel looked at him and chirped in approval. "Good to hear it. Relax, Sephiroth, go ahead and sleep."

"M'name is Seraphina." Sephiroth argued. Though he wondered why after he was done talking.

"You're right. I'm sorry Seraphina. Go ahead and sleep. I've got Angel's reigns." Sephiroth stretched out along the white chocobo's back and relaxed.

X

Cloud ran a hand through his hair as he looked at all of his supplies. He had gotten Sephiroth a few female and male outfits, as well as some random toy or book that the boy saw and was interested in. He hadn't ever asked, but Cloud could see the wonder and curiosity in those green eyes.

Aside from Sephiroth's meager belongings, Cloud also had a lot of lumber, building supplies, and a cart full of bricks and stones for the chimney and foundation that Zephyr whined and complained about as he pulled it through the field, even though Cloud was helping.

And then there was the specialized equipment Cloud bought for the two chocobo. A set of saddles for Angel and Zephyr if Sephiroth decided to ride one or the other, as well as another couple of saddles for Cloud if he wanted to ride either bird. Then there were the cargo bags, and the reins. As well as the grooming bag Cloud had thrown together; just a few sifting pans for the bird's dirt baths and some feather brushes and claw filers. As well as the food and treats Cloud had for the birds.

Then there was the hunting and cooking equipment, the camping gear, the traveling gear and the nick-nacks that Cloud had collected.

He was surprised by how much he managed to collect, and figured being in a monster hunting business was a more profitable job than anything else since SOLDIERS have yet to be well known.

Now he had Sephiroth asleep and content, so Cloud decided to spend a little more time planning the house he was building. He hadn't considered it when he started, but now he planned to keep Sephiroth with him, so the boy needed a room. Cloud knew he couldn't keep Sephiroth completely, that the child needed to continue his treatments to become the SOLDIER he was. Hopefully, however, Cloud would be able to let Sephiroth feel more human than before.

Hopefully, that would be enough to save him.

Thus he started sketching a framework design for their house. He walked around the flattened area of their camping ground for ideas and stretched his measuring tape many times to get measurements and angles.

X

Sephiroth didn't bother to second guess himself. He followed Daka, carrying the heavy bag of nails he knew the man would need, and stood back to watch and learn how Daka planned to build the house. He wanted to help. He wanted to live with this man who he felt comfortable with and proud of calling Pa. He liked traveling and being with the odd colored chocobo. (Now that he knew White and Black colored chocobo were unusual. The many visits to towns and the comments picked up said as much.)

He didn't mind wearing a dress if it meant he could smile and learn how to be a child instead of whatever it was Father wanted him to be. No, not Father; Hojo.

Sephiroth hammered a nail into a discarded plank of wood experimentally and carefully pulled it out again. Daka watched him closely, but allowed him to practice.

"Sephiroth, come over here and hammer this in." He called after a few hours, which Sephiroth used to perfect his hammering technique.

He felt proud of himself, especially when Daka praised him with a good job after they finished the frame of the house. He felt even more happy when Daka pointed to a room in the high corner.

"That'll be your room. You can see all of the fields from the window I'll put there."

"It'll be all mine?" Sephiroth asked, eyes wide as they stared at the fields Daka gestured to, and the mountains behind them. He had never had a window for his room. He had hardly ever seen windows, now knowing he had grown up mostly underneath the main floor of the mansion he ran away from.

"Yeah. Yours and only yours. For as long as you're with me, for as long as you want to be Seraphina, I'll give you that room." Sephiroth liked being Seraphina. It was only Daka's serious face that prevented him from saying as much. "Remember though: You are still Sephiroth. You are not going to make me kill you, got it?" Sephiroth nodded slowly, uneasy. "One day, you'll have to go back home. You're a special boy, and you're destined for many great things. I want you to do those things. But, when the world becomes too much and you need a break from it all, you're always welcome here. You can be Seraphina for as long as you need to be free from those expectations."

Sephiroth thought he understood, but didn't tell Daka that he planned to never go back to Father.

He should have known he never really had a choice.

X

Cloud gazed quietly into the night. The fire cracked and hissed as it burned bright and warm, and the shadows it cast spread into the deep darkness. A lunar eclipse was occurring overhead, and Cloud felt more inclined to watch his sleeping party.

Zephyr was being his eccentric avian self, spreading himself out across the ground. Angel was being much more ladylike, (and it was those differences in behavior that Cloud relied on to be sure of their genders, despite the fact that they were animals) having a wing propped over her head as she sat primly in place near the fire and her charge, who she brought back into Cloud's life.

And finally, the young boy Cloud hardly knew how to react around. The boy who Cloud was giving everything he had toward, just so the child could be comfortable and not flee back towards civilization where anything could happen to him. His blankets, his food, his protection, his time and attention; Cloud was sharing much more than he originally planned when he only wanted to make sure the boy survived his illness.

Sephiroth.

'What is going on?' He wondered to himself, not for the first time since he realized he was in the wrong time. Granted, the thought wasn't as hysterical as it had been those first few months, but he was still asking himself the question.

The lunar eclipse reached its peak, bathing the world in a dark light Cloud had no trouble looking through. He continued to look at the field of waving grass around the camp he'd made.

Sephiroth shifted quietly, sighing in his sleep as he ended up leaning against Cloud's leg. Cloud didn't flinch at the contact anymore, and he was relieved Sephiroth never seemed to notice. He carefully started running his fingers through the boy's soft silver hair. Sephiroth seemed to relax even more in his sleep, and Cloud let his thoughts wander again.

This child was not the person Cloud used to expect, and he was glad. Sephiroth was a child, and Cloud found himself wanting to let the boy act his childhood out to the fullest. Sephiroth loved science, it was obvious in how the boy observed the world around him and how he spoke when letting him know his thoughts and feelings. However, he also wanted nothing to do with the way he was being made to grow up with Hojo, and that too was obvious in the way he deferred his habits to the people he was raised by and the procedures they would make him do on a daily basis which were habit to him.

The way he would look at Cloud as if asking for permission to speak, how he would check his own posture when idle and how he used to repeat directions in his own words before beginning a task or chore. It was different than manners. These behaviors, done without meaning, meant they were not habits Sephiroth simply had.

Cloud didn't want to think that Sephiroth learned them painfully, but he had no idea how else other than brainwashing a five year old would be as such.

Angle cooed in her sleep and startled herself awake. Cloud snorted quietly as she looked around and caught him staring. She crooned, as if bashful and embarrassed, before eyeing his hand with a quirk of her head.

He refused to stop carding his fingers through Sephiroth's head.

"Kweh..." She whistled softly before looking at the sky briefly and shuddering.

"You alright, Angel?" Cloud asked quietly. He knew the birds could both understand a lot of what he said. He knew this through the interactions they had with Sephiroth when they boy would direct them around as he 'played' with them. (Cloud had no idea what Sephiroth did with the birds, though he suspected he was trying to teach them tricks.) He wasn't surprised when Angel answered him.

"Kweh." She clucked in a low tone. The feathers on her head, normally perky and neat, were drooping and flat as she sighed and started to rub her beak against Sephiroth's head. Cloud carefully started petting her as well.

"What's wrong, Angel?" Cloud asked as she relaxed slightly under his hand. She clucked against Sephiroth's head and looked meaningfully toward the mountains. The Nibel Mountains. The Shinra Mansion, no doubt (though how she would know of them, Cloud was too tired to wonder). She looked at Sephiroth, and then at Cloud.

"Kweh." She cooed sadly before looking at the eclipse and back.

"What? Are you worried about Sephiroth?" Angel nodded after a moment, and tugged gently at Sephiroth's clothes towards the mountain, watching Cloud with eerily glowing green eyes. "He won't be going away, don't worry okay?"

"Kweh." Angel sounded sharply, defiantly. It was obvious she wasn't insulted about being worried.

"What? He doesn't have to go anywhere." Cloud explained. He may have told Sephiroth numerous times he did, but he didn't mean what he said. He wouldn't mind Sephiroth staying with him and never going back to Hojo. He _wanted_ Sephiroth to stay with him and never going back to Hojo; despite that he knew the boy needed to go back. Dangerous and painful events that could be prevented would completely derail other events that happened for the better in the future.

"Kweh." Angel defied again. She looked at the eclipse and then at the mountains again. Cloud felt a wave of impeding fate wash over him, and he remembered feeling it before.

Before he had been thrust into the past.

"I won't do anything unless the Planet herself makes me." Cloud told the white bird. Angel relaxed a little.

"Kweh." She crooned mournfully before preening Sephiroth's hair alongside his fingers.

It took a few repeats of this interaction, lasting until Cloud finished building the house, before he realized that Angel was a little closer to the Planet than he thought.

It was difficult, when he finally did give into Sephiroth's request and bring him to the mountains, to make the boy go away. It was even more difficult, as he secretly watched with a guilty heart, to not let himself comfort the child crying harder than he ever thought he would.

He followed Sephiroth until the boy reached the Shinra Mansion. He knew the Nibel wolves wouldn't hesitate to prey on the child barely five and half.

X

Sephiroth walked slowly, amazed that he couldn't recognize the area and scared for that fact as well.

Angel had started looking towards the mountains outside of his room-that wasn't-finished a lot. Daka said he hadn't been in the towns there, but he knew them very well. He admit this in a quiet voice, and Sephiroth was under the impression that once the man would have cried about this fact. When Sephiroth asked if they could visit the towns in there, Daka shook his head.

"I can't visit Nibelheim yet."

He wouldn't say why. Finally, as Winter started to give way to Spring completely, Sephiroth told him he wanted to visit. Daka was quiet for a moment before saying,

"Then perhaps it's time for you to go home." Sephiroth had nothing to say to that, unable to understand how his request meant he had to go back. But they traveled to the mountains, and Sephiroth forgot about those words.

Until Daka stopped the chocobo in the middle of the trail, nowhere near a town.

"Alright, Sephiroth. If you can keep me and Seraphina secret, I don't see you having any problem coming back. Try to keep your hair long for your disguise." Before he could reply, Daka gave him a gentle hug, ruffled his long hair, and Angel started darting through the trees with him still strapped on.

"Stop Angel! Stop! Where are we going!? What are you doing!? _Stop_!" The white chocobo didn't obey, and Sephiroth had a feeling he knew exactly where he was. Then, Angel stopped on a slope, and Sephiroth felt the urges of tears in his eyes for the first time in a long time.

He could see the mansion.

Angel knelt down and tugged at his strap with her beak, loosening it gently. Sephiroth started crying in earnest. He hugged the chocobo's neck, unwilling to get off her saddle. She nuzzled him a few times as she tugged at something under her harness.

"I don't want to go back!" He protested. "I don't want to! I don't like it there at all! I wanna stay with you and Daka and Zephyr! Please don't make me go away Angel!"

"Kweh..." As sad as Angel sounded, she still made him slide off her back. She nuzzled him gently, crooning into his tears and leaning onto him as if to hug him. Sephiroth clung harder, until he finally thought she would be staying with him, and he loosened his grip.

Then she simply left him, and in her place were the clothes she found him in. Moping, but understanding the implied order, Sephiroth changed and left his dress and hair pins. When he turned around, unable to really abandon them, they were already gone, a single white feather in their place.

He stared at the feather for a long time before picking it up and slowly running his finger along the edge. He started walking a long time after that.

"Father will be angry." Sephiroth commented to himself, uneasy with the silence around him. "He'll want to know what happened and where I was. Daka said keep himself a secret, and to not cut my hair. Do I tell Father a story?" Sephiroth thought of that idea some more.

He'd never known too many stories before he ran away. Daka didn't tell too many of them himself, but he did have a few he shared about some of his friends, and the children he played with all liked to tell stories both true and false.

He could tell Father a false story.

"But what kind?" He wondered, losing sight of the mansion as he traveled lower onto a slope to reach the place. He hoped he didn't get lost. It was going to be dark in a few hours, and he didn't want to spend the night camping without camping gear. Snow or no snow, it was still going to be cold.

He really hoped he wasn't lost.

Sephiroth threw a few ideas around his mind, wondering what his father would believe and what he wouldn't.

When he finally arrived at the mansion, he thought he had a good story set up.

"I heard a voice singing and couldn't stop myself from following it." He decided to start with. "When the voice stopped, I was already in the middle of nowhere with snow and ice everywhere and I didn't really remember leaving the mansion. Then a white chocobo found me and took care of me." He had Angel's feather for his proof, having not let it go. "Sometimes I would hear the singing voice again, but I wasn't made to follow it again until a black chocobo started following us around."

He wasn't sure if he would find a black feather, but he hoped he had one on him somewhere.

"Then, after a long time, I started to change. I felt really really sick, but I could still move. Until I fell asleep and woke up in a different place. I thought I was dreaming, but I found myself in a field of green. There was energy everywhere. I could feel it, and it made me really awake. When I left the field, I found myself around here, and recognized the mansion from higher up there." Sephiroth kept a close eye on the outcropping Angel left him at.

Then Sephiroth figured he would be telling enough truth from the end of that story for Father to be frustrated enough to not care anymore.

Hopefully.

The mansion soon came into view from through the trees. With a fortifying breath for his anxiety, and an extra one for his tired muscles, Sephiroth trudged towards the front door. After a moment's hesitation (he wondered if he could just go to the town below the mountain and get someone to bring him back to Daka.) he reached towards the doorbell.

The door opened after a moment.

xXx TBC xXx

HK: OMG! I can't believe I started another one... Just a heads up, if I ever finish this, it might take a few years.

Anyway, I feel I need to explain myself, lest I be buried under complains of 'He's too young to be cross-dressing!' or 'what the hell kind of name is _Daka'_ or something like that.

Too young to cross-dress? What else would you call when a boy wears the cloths of a girl. If your thinking cross-dressing is sexual in nature and you feel this is going to involve Sephiroth/Cloud loving, obviously you didn't read my warning that this was NOT going to be a yaoi/boyxboy love/shouta whatever you want to call it. Cross-dressing is defined as the act of wearing the clothes belonging of used to define the other gender. Being a Transgender individual is more of a person feeling they were born the wrong gender, which Sephiroth will not be suffering from (not that it is a disease) and neither of these terms will be equating anything involving a relationship of the romantic nature between Cloud and Sephiroth.

In regards to the name Daka... It's never been done before, as far as I'm aware of, where Cloud has been sent to the past and given a name related to the clouds and heavens he's so surrounded by. I like the idea of guardian angels and Cloud is picking up that role, even as he tries not to be one. Daka happens to be a male version or type of something I think is called dakiri or dakini. I did a bit of research a while ago that I've already determined how to use.

Time travel. It's a rather interesting subject that's been steadily gaining popularity with each fandom in this site. Especially with this fandom. A lot of things have been explored and a lot of outcomes made. I would like to assure you now that this is not like those stories. I am planning to go through Sephiroth's life year-to-chapter, but I know at some point – probably the point where Cloud will most effect everything – will be broken down by moments rather than years for each chapter in this story. The ideas are there, as always, but it isn't yet typed.

Chapter length. Yeah. This is obviously a rather long chapter. I would love to say that this is going to be the average length, but I'm really not sure. It's far too easy to add many things to this, especially if each chapter is going to represent a year of Sephiroth's life. I'm, right here and now, making no promises to neither an average chapter length nor reliable updates. Reviews and idea might help, but I make no promises.

Thank you for reading anyway!


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